Careers in SEO

Looking for an entry level job or internship in SEO? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

Yesterday my refrigerator stopped chugging along, and my yogurt nearly spoiled. Luckily there’s this thing called the internet, so I went straight to Google and typed in “refrigerator repair.” From the results I selected a company and called them up, and soon I was enjoying my Chobani again. Consumers are making decisions based upon results handed to them by search engines, so it has become important for companies to try to show up as close to the top of the results as possible. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialists help companies improve their page rank so consumers can find them and use their services.

Search Engine Optimization Career Guide Overview

Salary and Career Progression for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Best Locations for Search Engine Optimization

Pros and Cons of Being a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

What You Need to Know for a Career in Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization Resources

Careers Related to Search Engine Optimization

Companies with Jobs and Internships in Search Engine Optimization

What a Search Engine Optimization Specialist Does

An SEO Specialist focuses on making websites rank high in internet search engines so that people will click on their links, garnering new customers or new leads for the company. There are many pieces to accomplishing a great SEO rank that SEO Specialists play a role in including:

A Typical Day for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

While a typical day for an SEO Specialist varies, it might include some of these tasks:

Reading and responding to emails

Browsing through and participating in forums

Browsing through news to make sure nothing has changed that would influence your SEO strategy

Integrating SEO into all marketing channels

Checking that project plans and activities are aligned with methodologies that you built for SEO

Checking the rankings of all your keywords

Writing content

Creating meta-tags for a new landing page

Salary and Career Progression for a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

An SEO Specialist makes $24,682-$60,672 per year on average. From there you can go on to become a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Manager making $36,318-$90,469 per year on average.

Best Locations for Search Engine Optimization Specialists

Here are some hot spots for SEO specialists:

San Diego, California

Seattle, Washington

New York, New York

Boston, Massachusetts

Los Angeles, California

Chicago, Illinois

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Atlanta, Georgia

Denver, Colorado

Pros and Cons of Being a Search Engine Optimization Specialist

Pros

Flexible hours

Pretty solid pay

While it’s a narrowly defined role, it’s one that more and more companies need to fill as the internet grows

Cons

Need to stay up to date on industry trends as things quickly change

Can be frustrating to work across teams making sure everyone from programming to marketing is taking SEO into account

Need to make yourself stand out from people claiming to be SEO experts that aren’t

Lots of time on a computer

What You Need to Know for a Career in Search Engine Optimization

To be an SEO Specialist you need to be up to date on anything and everything that affects page-ranking. Familiarize yourself with SEO tools like TagCrowd, Google Analytics, KISSmetrics, KISSinsights, Crazy Egg, Survey Monkey, & Google Website Optimizer. These are all tools that will help you engage with more people, resulting in them buy more of your company’s stuff, giving you their email, or clicking where you want them to.

Search Engine Optimization Resources

If search engine optimization still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.